Sat 7 Mar 2026
Claverdon’s 1st XV travelled away to top of the league, Barkers Butts on Saturday afternoon in what can only be described as a game of two halves.
Claverdon, very much the underdogs coming into the fixture, opened with a dominant first 20 minutes. An interception from centre, James Williams almost saw him dot over the line if not for an admirable last ditch tackle. However, the Claverdon pack regathered the ball and Charlie Wakelam used his strength to barrel over and score. Fly-half, Luke Sibley kicked the not-so challenging conversion right in front of the posts. Barkers, once settled into the game, replied with their own try following an exceptional offload in a tackle. Following the restart, a Barkers penalty allowed Sibley to take an extra 3 points to go 5-10 up. However, right before the end of the half, Barkers scored another try to level the score.
The second half saw Claverdon lose the momentum they had in the first. A large swathe of Claverdon penalties resulted in 3 yellow cards issued across the 40 minutes, blunting the Lions’ attack. Barkers came out on top with the game ending 41-10.
Report by Hilton Garner-Jones
